Iraq: 2016 end of terrorism, corruption

the Prime Minister of Iraq, Haidar al-Abadi, marked the anniversary day of the activation of the Iraqi Army, stating that 2016 will be the end of terrorism and corruption in the country.

ERBIL, Kurdistan Region (K24) – On Saturday, the Prime Minister of Iraq, Haidar al-Abadi, marked the anniversary day of Iraqi Police forces, stating that 2016 will be the end of terrorism and corruption in the country.

Speaking at a ceremony in Baghdad broadcast live on state TV, al-Abadi said that 2016 will mark the end of Islamic State (IS) insurgents’ occupation in all parts of Iraq by the hands of the Iraqi security forces.

He also mentioned that the Iraqi government will end corruption in 2016, and the first step in combating corruption will begin from the Interior Ministry of Iraq.

In the last few months, al-Abadi announced a package of reforms regarding the Iraqi federal government and parliament. After the announcement of the reform plan, Iraqi top Shia cleric Grand Ayatollah al-Sistani showed his support for al-Abadi's plan.

In another part of al-Abadi's speech, he touched upon the deployment of the Turkish troops in the north of Iraq, emphasizing that Iraq is against the presence of the Turkish troops in the country.

"This is a frank invitation to Turkey our neighbor to pull out its forces from Iraq," al-Abadi said. "We will deploy every effort permitted by our rights and international law to make them leave," he added.

He also mentioned that the Iraqi federal government will take all measures to dismiss Turkish troops in the country "because Iraq has no place for foreign forces."

In December, tensions were raised between Ankara and Baghdad after Turkish troops were deployed in Bashiqa town of Mosul in the north of Iraq. The tensions led the Foreign Minister of Iraq, Ibrahim al-Jaafari, to officially complain about Turkey to NATO and called on the International Community to force Ankara to pull out its troops in Iraq.

The Turkish government stated that the troops deployed the area to train the Sunni militants of Hashd al-Watani, aiding them in the liberation of Mosul from IS insurgents.